Don Rickles passed away today. In honour of his comedic legacy, I thought I'd reminisce great scenes from a great movie that he was in (No, not Casino.. that wasn't a Comedy!).. KELLY'S HEROES For me Kelly's Heroes was like a delicious mash of A bridge too far meets Caddyshack.. A star studded Great War/action movie with classic comedic performances.. Clint Eastwood, Don Rickles, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Archie Bunker!, Captain Stubing! (Yes Gavin MacLeod is in the movie), and a great performance by a Tiger tank.. what more could you ask? Well.. let me countdown some of the best things.. in no particular order.. *I replaced Rickles character name with "Rickles" since the character name is censored. Against the odds These quotes from the scenes where Oddball is refusing to take on the Tigers is a classic cos it's comedic but also shows a deep chemistry and respect of each other's capabilities.. This also reminds me of certain OSW strategy rooms where similar dialogues took place among good friends... "Kelly: Well Oddball, what do you think? Oddball: It's a wasted trip baby. Nobody said nothing about locking horns with no Tigers. Big Joe: Hey look, you just keep them Tigers busy and we'll take care of the rest. Oddball: The only way I got to keep them Tigers busy is to LET THEM SHOOT HOLES IN ME! Rickles: Hey, Oddball, this is your hour of glory. And you're chickening out! Oddball: To a New Yorker like you, a hero is some type of weird sandwich, not some nut who takes on three Tigers. Kelly: Nobody's asking you to be a hero. Oddball: No? Then YOU sit up in that turret baby. Kelly: No, because you're gonna be up there, baby, and I'll be right outside showing you which way to go. Oddball: Yeah? Kelly: Yeah. Oddball: Crazy... I mean like, so many positive waves... maybe we can't lose, you're on! " Oddball's 3 Sherman's attacking out of a railroad tunnel to the music of Hank Williams Jr. Ok "All for the love of sunshine" was a song from the seventies, when the movie was made, but Oddball's surprise attack out of the tunnel with the song blaring is the second best "Playing music while totally Pwning the enemy" scene in movie history behind the Ride of the Valkyries. When you are warring next time, put this music on while you rigorously self KO.. Mines "Rickles: [Rickles finds a mine in the minefield] Hey! I found one! Big Joe: What kind is it? Rickles: The kind that blows up! How the Hell do I know what kind it is?" This reminds me of when I was a noob and wanted to know if I bought a tracer or a bomb in the old osw days and noobishly went and ask Toni.. The Band "Rickles: What is this? Huh? What is this, a ballgame? Who are these guys? Oddball: Their my friends, Rickles. Rickles: And who is that bunch of refugees over there? Oddball: The band. Rickles: The band? What do we need a band for? Oddball: Have a little faith, Rickles. They're beautiful people." You know how a friend of yours brought in really questionable players for an EE war and you're like totally not sure?.. this is that scene.. Oddball's Dog imitations "Woof Woof Woof" That's my other dog imitation "Art Arf" That's my other dog imitation Donald Sutherland brought a Hippy Nut vibe to his character and this reminds me of Tim cracking midget jokes while IMF seriously plans the strips Archie Bunker seizing the "Breakthrough" opportunity Archie played the General who jumps on the "breakthrough" that Kelly's squad and his assortment of oddballs (including the band) created.. Reminds me of certain war commanders who jump on certain victory bandwagons Making the Deal with the Tiger commander A Western style showdown scene with the last Tiger tank, this time with a happy ending for all the grunts! Talking about the Tigers.. These were great mock ups done on top of the T-34 platforms.. If there was a "Costume design" for Tanks, this movie would win an oscar between the Tigers and Oddball's "souped up" Shermans If you haven't seen the movie, certainly watch it for all the campy dialogue and action scenes.. If you haven't seen it in a while, watch it again in honour of Don Rickles.. the guy who pretty much brought "insult comedy" to the mainstream thanks in part to the Rat Pack.. Thanks for the memories and laughter Don.. you can put that .30 Cal down now..
Ok for the young hipsters, you can still see Hank Williams Jr rock out with Lynard Skynard (or as I call it now, the Rossington-Collins band) at El Dorado lake music fest in Kansas this summer!! Yes yes there will be plenty of beer shotguning and pig catching in a mud pit.. but hey, you can still hear a 30 minute Freebird.. that's one live music experience one must have..